NEWS

Manstein Feature: New Sounds

That’s right, cool new sounds! Sure, graphics may be the most immediately noticeable aspect of video games (ever wondered why they’re not called “audio games”?), but most players will agree that sound plays a huge role in creating a truly immersive environment. A squadron of Messerschmitts wouldn’t be quite as scary without the roar of engines and the whistling of bombs dropping over your head. The reflex to duck behind cover comes much quicker when you can hear loud gunfire crackling from a nearby window, and bullets ricocheting way too close for your taste.

In the coming Manstein build we will bring you more of this adrenaline-inducing audio assault, with new stereo gunshot effects and new armor model impact sounds.

”Death

Bring the Noise

Reto.Draebesmoelf has been busy cooking up new stereo gunshot sounds for Manstein, which you will be able to hear at very close range, i.e. when you are firing your own rifle, or when someone standing, let’s say in the same room, fires his.

Needless to say, these sound effects kick ass, and make the rifles more believable, in addition to helping your ears differentiate between nearby gunshots and distant gunshots. How do they do that? The nerdy answer is that, because humans have two ears, the auditive cortex is constantly comparing the information coming from your left ear and right ear (in terms of relative volume, timing, frequency content) to determine what direction a noise is coming from, how far away the source is, and whether there are any obstacles between it and you, etc. So stereo gives your brain more info (and makes everything sound phatter).

But why are only the close-range gunshots in stereo? That’s because when your face is pressed against the stock of a rifle, the right ear is getting audio information that is extremely different from what the left ear is receiving. As the sound source moves away, that audio signal will be gradually treated by the game as a mono sound file, but positioned in the stereo field so that it seems to be louder in one of your ears. Holy crap, you’re snoring already. Here’s something to wake you up:

Not all weapons will get new sound effects in Manstein, but more sound effects are scheduled for the following “N” build. Here are the rifles that will sound different in Manstein:

Kar98 Kurz

Kar98 Kurz Scoped

M1903 bolt-action rifle

M1903 Scoped bolt-action rifle

M1 Garand

Gewehr 43

Thompson Submachine Gun

Damage Inc.

Besides the new gunshot effects, the other change you will notice in Manstein is new armor impacts when shooting at tanks. These will provide additional cues to let you know when you have succeeded in damaging an armored vehicle. If your shot goes through, you’ll hear the creaking of metal plates twisted by heat and pressure. Just watch this little demonstration: